292 BULLETIN OF THE 



introduction of new methods. The "Blake" was this year provided 

 with a new, double-cyhnder reehng-engine, built by Copeland & Bacon, 

 placed at right angles to the reel, on which our steel rope was wound. 

 A small double engine revolved the reel, so that the wire rope was 

 wound independently of the main reeling-engine. The wire rope was 

 led to the port side directly from the main reeling-engine, then by a 

 large, wrought-iron sheave along the deck to the mainmast, thence across 

 to the starboard side, and then along the deck to the reel, upon which 

 it was wound. This worked admirably, relieving the reel, which thus 

 became a mere spool, from all strain either in winding up or in dredg- 

 ing, the whole strain being taken up by tlie ten turns of the wire rope 

 on the surging drum of the main reeliug-eugine. The arrangements 

 for leading off the wire from the bow of the ship, through a large sheave 

 at the end of the dredging-boom, were practically the same as last year. 

 The steel-spring accumulator was, however, replaced this year by one of 

 car-rubber springs, suspended along the foremast, and to this accumu- 

 lator was attached the pendant running along the dredging-boom which 

 carried the dredging-puUey. As Lieutenant-Commander Sigsbee is soon 

 to publish, in one of the Coast Survey Repoi-ts, a full account of the 

 dredging and sounding apparatus used on board the " Blake," I will not 

 speak in greater detail of our apparatus. 



No change was made in our dredges. In the trawls several new 

 forms were tried, but we found that the most satisfactoiy trawl was of 

 the shape adopted last year, the only important change being the greater 

 height of the runners, — 30". The bar connecting the runners was 

 used as a frame to stretch a sheet of netting across the whole beam, so 

 as to divide the trawl opening into two halves, each opening into the 

 trap. This enabled us to give a longer lead line to the mouth of the 

 double trawl, without danger of fouling from the lead line of the other 

 side. The only change I could still suggest would be that this lead 

 line should run through rings at the comers of the runners, the strain 

 on the side which fell on the ground would take up the slack of the 

 upper side, and thus increase still further the sweep of the trawl. Our 

 trawl-nets were made much shorter than last year, and for deep work, 

 when so much ooze is always likely to choke the trawl, it would be 

 advisable for a ten-foot beam to have a net of not more than twelve to 

 fifteen feet in length. 



We also tried dragging a heavy tow-net rapidly over the ground at 

 great depths, in hopes of catching the more active Crustacea and Fishes ; 

 but we found that, after all, no deep-sea machine worked better than a 



